Nightmare's Calling
by crystylia
Summary: A new mutant (my personal creation) is introduced to the Xavier Institute, after 17 years of confinement from people. (Rated for mild-violence, ect.)
1. Runaway

The child had been born on the first night of winter, in a city so small it could barely be found on the map. A city with no snow, until that night. The angels wept, and the harsh winds froze their tears, casting them as a crystal blanket across the grounds. They shed tears for the birth of a mutant.

Seventeen years later she sat atop a hill overlooking that city, where snow had never come again, silver moonlight washing across her pale face. Stars danced in the ebon abyss of her eyes, a felinish gold in color, and rose lips were turned down in a troubled frown. Fingers laced idly across knees, and a pair of pointed cat's ears lay flat across the top of pin-straight raven tresses. The wind bit mercilessly at her cheeks, but she took no notice as she stared in a mixture of hatred and adoration at the tiny city. She had never ventured farther from it than she was now. "Until today," she breathed, the frozen air curling in front of her face. She stood up, a thin, catlike tail flicking to and fro behind her. "Mother," she whispered. "I know Papa cursed the day I was born... called me a..a mutant. That's why you kept me in this town.. kept me away from people. I'm through hiding, though. I want to be in cities, to be with people. To go to a real school. You might be wrong.. maybe there is someone out there who will accept me.." And with that she turned her back to the city and took off running, down the hill and into the shadows.

The motorcycle roared in his ears, like the purr of a contented cat, and he could barely make out the street in the glare of the headlight. Suddenly, a tiny black kitten leapt in the path of the wheeled beast and fell over, no longer moving. Logan pulled to a halt so quickly that a cloud of dust rose around him. "Stupid cat, " he growled as the dust cleared, then he looked down. The kitten was gone, replaced by a teenage girl, sprawled facedown on the road. _Almost a girl_ thought Logan, catching sight of the cat-like black ears, nearly hidden beneath inky locks, and thin, curved tail, flopped limply beside her. _Better take her to Charles..._ and so he gathered up the unconscious form, balancing her carefully between him and the bars of the motorcycle as he road the last few miles to the institute.

The first thing she saw was darkness. In a flash it became clean, flawless white, and then shapes formed, sharpened, and finally everything began to make sense. She was in a hospital of some sort..but where? "Oh, you're awake?" came a cheery voice, and, looking to her left, the girl saw a figure dressed in blue capris and a pink sweater. "I'll go tell the professor," and the stranger hurried out of the room. The girl closed her eyes, trying to clear her head, and her feline's auds perked as she heard the whirring of an electric wheelchair. She cracked one golden eye lazily. A man with deep, sage eyes was sitting next to her bed. The girl sat up and looked at him in confusion. "W-where am I?" she stuttered, wide eyed, her tail thrashing in troubled circles behind her.

"Allow me to explain," said the man. "I am Professor Charles Xavier, and you are in the infirmary of the Xavier Institute. Logan found you unconscious on the street on his way back here, and thought it best to bring you to recover."

"You nearly got hit, jumping out of no where like that," mumbled Logan, who was leaning against the adjacent wall.

"Who are you?" the question shot from her mouth in absolute confusion, not even giving her a chance to register that this question had already been answered. Professor Xavier smiled a bit, leaning back.

"Ah, yes. We are mutants."


	2. A New Friend

"Mutants?" This was getting far too strange! How is it that the day she decided to leave home she ended up in some institute with these strangers claiming to be the one thing she was that made her father despise her? She opened her mouth to say more, but no sound came out.

"Yes. Surely you know of them as you are one yourself. What is your name, anyhow?" questioned the professor.

"Umbra," muttered a still very surprised Umbra. "Why am I here?"  
"Like a said, you were brought here to regain consciousness. You are free to go, or welcome to stay if you like. This is an institute for mutants, where they are helped gain control over their powers and trained to use them for good."

"There are _more_ mutants?"

"Hundreds. Only a very few here, you'll get to meet them if you decide to stay. How did you end up on the street, anyway?"

"I ran away," began Umbra. "When I was born, my father called me a mutant, and left me and my mother alone in a small city. She taught me at home, and I only left the house at night. I'd never set foot out of the city until this day. I was tired of hiding." Professor Xavier nodded.

"Understandable. It makes sense that your mother kept you away from people. Many react violently to mutants. If you choose to stay, you'd still have to hide from some people, but you'll be around other mutants."

"I'd like that," murmured Umbra. The professor smiled.

"All right. Have Rogue show you around the institute and introduce you to everyone. She should be waiting by the stairway. It won't be hard to find." Umbra nodded slowly and got off of the bed, walking out of the infirmary.

"Why were you asking all those questions?" asked Logan after she was out of the room. "Couldn't you have just looked in her mind for the answers?"

"I didn't want to startle her," replied the professor. "By the sound of her story, and her surprise, she's never been around anyone besides her family. Especially fellow mutants. Hopefully here she will learn that they are not such a bad thing at all."

Umbra followed the only hallway, her sense of direction helping her choose the right path. Within a few minutes she came upon the stairwell. Standing next to it was a ghostly pale girl with short red hair, dressed in black and green. "You must be Rogue," Umbra said when she was a few yards away. "I'm Umbra."

"Hey," Rogue's lips turned up at the corners in a friendly smile. She had a strong country accent that made Umbra's cat-ears twitch. Rogue caught sight of them and her eyes widened a bit in awe. "Whoa! Those are awesome. So, what are your powers?"

"Powers?" asked Umbra. What was Rogue talking about?

"Yeah. All mutants have powers. Like me. See, if I come in direct contact with anyone I get their abilities, memories, and if they're a mutant, I get their powers. They don't last forever, but that's a good thing." Umbra nodded.

"That's really cool. I don't know what my powers are yet..." Rouge nodded in understanding.

"Hey listen, before I show you around, you wanna go change clothes?" She gestured to Umbra's jeans and sweatshirt, both of which were torn and streaked with mud. "You look like you might wear the same size as me, and I'm sure we can find _something_ in my closet you'd like." Umbra smiled.

"I'd like that, thanks." And so she followed Rogue to her room, and sat down on the edge of the bed, watching a blizzard of garments fly from the closet. 

"Oh, hey, I'd think this'd look perfect on you. Here, try it on." Rogue pushed some clothes into Umbra's arms and showed her to the bathroom. She changed slowly, throwing her muddy outfit in the sink after using one of the sleeves of her old sweater to polish her boots. After reconsidering, she just dropped the tattered clothes into the garbage can and pulled on the new ones. _They _do_ fit perfectly,_ thought Umbra, looking at her reflection. She had carefully tugged out and retied a few of the stitches of the pants before putting them on, so that her tail wasn't trapped. Now she observed the outfit more closely. The pants were low-rise, made out of a black imitation-leather, the legs flaring, which looked nice with her boots. The top was nearly plain, sleeveless and indigo in color, with a silver star on the front. Rogue had even handed her a pair of black fingerless fishnet gloves that went up to her elbows. Umbra smiled. Her first day away from that little city, and she had already found others like her, was already making new friends. 

"Hey, that looks _great_," Rogue smiled, standing up as Umbra re-entered the room. "Listen, the room across the hall is empty, and if you're gonna stay here, that's where you can crash. C'mon, I'll show you around the rest of the institute. She gestured for Umbra to follow her, and led her down the hallway, towards the front door.


	3. Around The Institute

A younger girl was now sitting on the steps. She had brown hair pulled back in a ponytail and light eyes. Umbra immediately recognized her as the girl from the infirmary. "Hey," called the girl, smiling as they got closer. "I'm Kitty,"

Umbra smiled. "I'm Umbra."

"Kitty's a freshman," said Rogue. Kitty nodded, and raised her hand in farewell as Rogue led Umbra out the door. "Obviously, this is the outside. The mansion's got a tight security system, so when it's activated, I suggest you be careful. The professor is handling your records right now and enrolling you in the high school. I'll show you around it tomorrow, if you'd like." Umbra nodded, but then a curious expression shadowed her face.

"School? What about - I mean, I don't exactly look like everyone else.." As Rogue opened her mouth to speak, a cloud of smoke suddenly appeared, and with it, a boy with dark blue hair, dressed in a khaki jacket.

"Oh, Hi," he said, looking a bit embarrassed. Like Rogue, he, too, had a heavy accent, but his leaned more towards German. "Sorry to interrupt, but I'm just curious about the newcomer." He turned towards Umbra. "I'm Kurt," a huge smile spread across his face as he extended a hand.

"Umbra," she replied, shaking his hand. At that moment there was a tiny click and Kurt's image blurred, then seemed to disappear. The new creature standing there looked nearly like him, except he had blue fur and very pale yellow eyes, and three digits to each hand, not to mention a tail. 

"Oops," murmured Kurt, tapping a watch Umbra suddenly caught sight of around his wrist. "Battery must be running low, sorry," and with that his new image was replaced by his old one. Rouge, who had been standing to one side with her arms crossed, finally spoke.

"The professor can fix you up with an image inducer, like Kurt's. It's basically a hologram that'll cover up your appearance enough to hide your ears and tail. I'm sure Professor X is already working on one."

"Oh, okay," Umbra smiled, and followed Rogue once more, leaving Kurt to ponder over his own image inducer.

"So, where're you from?" asked Rogue as they both took a seat on the edge of the fountain. Umbra nearly floated, rather than sat, drawing her knees to her chest, but not resting her feet on anything but the air itself; anyone else more than likely would have fallen for attempting this.

"Some little town in the middle of nowhere," sighed Umbra. "This is the first time I can ever remember being around someone other than my mom."

"What about your father?" Rogue inquired softly.

"He left. When I was born, he simply called me a mutant, cursed that day, and walked out the door. My mother never let me set foot out of town, and I only left the house at night, or in the winter, when it got so cold I could bundle up enough to hide my tail and ears."

"So, this is your first time ever being around people? Whoa, you sure are calm about it. I'd be freaking out after seein' so many new faces."

"I guess it's because I chose to come into the real world. No one pushed me from the shelter of the nest. I simply left myself." Rogue nodded.

"Listen, it's going to be nearly impossible to find everyone around here. I figure you'll meet the newer recruits in the danger room since you'll be training with them. Everyone else will just appear gradually."

"Danger room?" Umbra looked a bit uncomfortable, her emerald eyes widening. Rogue chuckled a bit.

"Don't worry. It's just a simulator room. The professor runs different simulations and situations and everyone practices using their powers to get out of them safely. Everyone tries to be really careful. It's sort of like training." Umbra sighed, relieved. "Listen," Rogue continued. "It's getting dark. Want to head inside and check out your room?"

"Sure," said Umbra, and both girls stood and walked back to the mansion. As soon as the door shut behind them, Umbra perked one triangular ear. Once again she heard the whirring of a wheelchair. 

"Ah, there you are, Umbra," Professor Xavier said as he approached. There was a plain white box in his lap. He stopped about a foot in front of the girls and held it out to Umbra. "This has your school schedule, the uniform you are expected to wear in training, and your image inducer. It's already been set, just wear it like a watch and activate the hologram using the red button. Have Rogue explain what it is, first of all, if she hasn't already. Also, don't wear it in training." The professor turned to Rogue. "I've already arranged with your teachers to let you be late to class, so you can help Umbra find hers. I suggest you head to your rooms now, it's getting late." He smiled and the two girls nodded, walking down the hall.

Umbra sat down on her bed, which she and Rogue had just made, and opened the box. She took the slip over paper from the top and read over it. Geometry, History, Biology, and Gym. That wasn't too bad.. it could certainly be worse. She set her schedule on the bedside table and next took out the image induced. She put it on her left wrist; it looked exactly like a watch. Standing in front of the mirror, Umbra tapped the button. She almost gasped as her ears and tail seemed to vanish, but when she reached up uncertainly she found one fuzzy point on top of her head. She took the inducer off and put it next to her schedule. She was taking the uniform and hanging it in her closet when Rogue appeared at the door. 

"The professor sent Scott and Jean to the store today to pick up some things for you." Umbra noticed Rogue was holding a shopping bag. Rogue walked in and sat down facing Umbra, and dumped the bag's contents out between them. A hair brush, a tooth brush, a tube of tooth paste, an eyeliner pencil, and a compact of shimmery charcoal eye shadow. There was also a folded black nightshirt that looked her size. "The make-up was free with a coupon, I guess you might want to experiment with it."

"Never used it before," Umbra smirked, putting everything on top of her dresser. Rogue stood up and stretched.

"It _is_ gettin' late. I'm going to go crash for the night." Umbra nodded.

"Good idea. I'll do the same. School in the morning." She paused. "_That's_ something I've never said before."

"Lucky," Rogue smiled and walked out, shutting the door behind her.

Umbra changed into the nightshirt, hanging her other clothes in the closet next to her uniform. _This is unbelievable_, she thought. _I've already got friends, a place to stay, and I'm going to _school_!_ She switched off the light and then lay down, pulling the blankets over her. Her mind kept turning those thoughts over for a few minutes, and then she was fast asleep.


	4. First Day Of School

__

Tap tap tap. Pause. _Tap tap tap._ "Umbra. Wake up or Ah'm comin' in! You're gonna be late!" Umbra twitched a pointed aud and sat up. She glanced over at the clock: 7 A.M.

"I'm up!" She called to the closed door.

"Get dressed and come on down to breakfast," Rouge said, and then Umbra's sensitive ears heard the soft pad of bare feet as she walked away. Umbra stretched towards the ceiling, listening to various joints pop. Just then, something in her mind audibly clicked. _School!_ She thought excitedly. She jumped out of bed and grabbed the contents of her nightstand, hurrying to the mirror.

Umbra came padding unbelievably softly down the stairs, especially since she was wearing her boots. Her waist-length raven tresses were brushed straight, feathering out lightly from her face. She had on the clothes Rogue had given her yesterday, and her green eyes were lined as if an expert had done them, in ink-black. Crimson lips twitched upward in a smile as she entered the kitchen and took the empty seat next to Rogue. "Everyone," began Professor X, waiting until he had their full attention. "This is Umbra," he gestured towards her with a slight smile. "She's a member of the X-Men now, so I want all of you to make her feel welcome. And to start, why don't you all introduce yourselves?"

Umbra's eyes followed the circle around the table as each person said their name, starting with an older teen in sunglasses. "I'm Scott." Next to him was a girl most likely the same age, with long, fiery hair.

"Jean," she smiled. Next to her was Kurt.

"You've already met me," he gave her a grin.

"And me," added Kitty.

"I'm Bobby," the guy next to Kitty smiled, before tapping his glass of milk, freezing it.

"Sam," muttered a boy with shoulder-length hair sleepily. 

"Rahne," came an energetic reply from a girl with auburn pig-tails.

"Jamie," a boy who looked no more than twelve said shyly.

"And ya know me," Rogue smiled at Umbra. "The other four students are around somewhere, probably gettin' ready."

"Or sleeping," Kitty added with a giggle. Umbra sipped from the glass of milk in front of her, unconsciously flicking her tail behind her through the bars of the chair. "So, Umbra, like, what are your powers?" questioned Kitty.

"I really don't know," Umbra shook her head and took another sip of milk.

"Then what is it that shows your classification as a mutant?" Jean asked.

"This," Umbra tapped the button on the image inducer, and with a fading beep she watched many of the eyes around the table draw to atop her head, where her two triangular auds perched. She switched the inducer back on.

"Way cool!" said Jamie. Rogue nudged Umbra in the arm. 

"Hey, we better get goin' or we'll never find your classes." Umbra nodded in agreement and the two girls got up and left the table. 

"So, this is Bayville High?" asked Umbra as she and Rogue stood there, looking at the school. 

" 'Fraid so. It isn't really that bad, I guess. What've you got first?" Umbra held out her schedule, and Rogue took it, reading over the list of classes. "Geometry," she groaned, handing the schedule back, along with a slip of paper. "They assigned you a locker already. It should be near your first class." Just then the bell sounded. Rogue gestured for Umbra to follow. "C'mon, we're gonna be late!"

Umbra slid into the chair next to Rogue at the lunch table with a sigh. "Rough day?" inquired Rogue. The cat-eared teen nodded, her glossy locks sliding over her shoulders.

"These classes are crazy. My mom used to teach me every weekday at home, but it feels like I just skipped a few grades. Not a lot of homework tonight, though."

"Well that's good. It'll take a while to get used to public school, trust me. But you'll get the hang of it. At least your last class is Gym." Umbra nodded, opening her milk carton and unwrapping a straw. She sat there a moment and sipped at the milk thoughtfully.

"Yo, who's that chick sitting with the Rogue?" Todd asked, not directed at any of the other members of the Brotherhood in particular, just whoever would listen to him. 

"Beats me," replied Lance, pushing a piece of his dark hair out of his face. "I don't keep track of the X-Geeks." Todd was about to ask if Lance thought this girl could be a new recruit, but decided against it, instead walking out of the lunch room to the trashcans to look for his own lunch.

Umbra stood in the gym, dressed in a white T-shirt and red shorts like most of the other girls, waiting for the coach's instructions. "Okay, ladies. Today we're going to try the balancing beam. When I call your name, I want you stand on it and try walking across it and stretching your legs." He called the first name, and the girl hurried up. Two seconds after she got up on the beam, she fell off. Giggling hysterically, she went and sat down. The next few girls the coach called lasted a bit longer, but not by much. "How about the new girl?" The coach asked. "Umbra." Umbra walked up to the balancing beam and took a small breath. She stepped up and began walking slowly across it, perfectly steady. She began to pause with each step, holding herself on one foot, arms spread out to keep a balance that had not yet faltered. After a few minutes of this she cart wheeled perfectly across the beam, and then jumped off. "Excellent!" The coach told her as she went to sit down. "You've got the balance of a cat!"

Umbra walked into the mansion, books in her arms. She was humming under her breath, and so absorbed in her thoughts that even her sensitive hearing did not pick up on footsteps racing down the hall. She was almost to the stairs when she noticed it. Too late. One of the students crashes right into her, and both went flying backwards. Umbra's books fell out of her arms, and the student landed on his backside on the ground. But, completely defying all rules of gravity, the cat-eared girl managed to get her feet under herself and catch her balance before she hit the floor. "Sorry," said a blonde-haired boy. He scrambled up and bent to help Umbra gather her books.

"Don't worry about it," Umbra smiled, taking her books from him. "I should have heard you, so it's partially my fault."

"What do you mean?" he asked, confusion marking his face. Umbra clicked her image inducer off and swiveled a black triangle at him.

"Sensitive hearing," she replied and moved onto the first step, looking back over her shoulder. "Thanks for the help... um, Sam, isn't it?" Sam nodded.

"Sorry again. I left my history book at the school and am trying to get back before they lock me out." Umbra simply waved her hand to show him no damage was done, smiled again, and began going up the stairs as Sam took off at full speed out of the mansion.

Umbra was sprawled across her bed reading a poetry book from the library when Rogue appeared at her door. She had a black plastic trash back in once gloved hand. "Got some stuff for ya, if ya want it." Umbra closed her book and Rogue sat down on the bed, throwing the trash bag in between them. "Ah was sortin' through my closet and found these in a box," she handed Umbra a few CDs with the word 'Metal' scrawled across them. "Ah managed to end up with two of 'em. Oh, and this." She pulled out a CD player.

"Thanks, Rogue," Umbra smiled and set them on her night stand. Rogue took a minute to look around Umbra's room.

"Man, your wall is plain. You want a poster? I've got a few that won't fit on mine."

"Sure." Rogue walked across the hall and came back a moment later carrying a rolled up posted. Umbra unrolled it; there was a picture of some heavy metal band on it. "Wicked," Umbra breathed. She took the roll of duct tape Rogue handed her and stuck the poster to her wall. "Thanks a lot."

"No problem. Sounds like you've been sheltered _way_ too long, so you should get introduced to some new stuff." Umbra nodded her agreement and took off her image inducer, slipping it into a drawer. Suddenly, Professor Xavier's too-calm voice came on the intercom.

"Attention students. Scoot, Jean, Kitty, Kurt, Rogue and Umbra assemble in the Danger Room for a training session."

"See you in a few," Rogue got up and left to change, closing the door behind her.


	5. Nightmares and Danger

Umbra stood next to Rogue as the professor gave instructions for the session. "I'm going to run a maze simulation. All of you must start at a different location and get to the center platform, making sure your teammates arrive safely as well. When everyone gets to the platform, through the switch to cut the simulation. Now spread out."

Everyone scattered in a different direction and then stood there, watching the screen above them as it counted down to the simulation. _3...2...1...0_.

The room around Umbra suddenly became a metal maze, and from where she was standing she could see the platform. She set out through the maze, when suddenly a whirring sound was picked up by her pointed ears. She looked down, and her eyes widened as she saw a giant buzz saw, turned horizontally, heading straight for her knees!

Suddenly, Umbra changed. She shrunk in size and became a tiny black kitten. Leaping gracefully and with perfect reflexes over the hungry teeth of the gleaming blade, she landed in a patch of shadows, then melted into one herself.

_How did I do that?!_ She thought in shock, looking down to see nothing but darkness rather than her black and orange clad form. She ran along the maze in the darkness cast by the walls, no more than a fluid shadow, until there was nothing but light, and she reformed. She wasn't out of danger yet, though. Blocking her path was a spiked sphere on a horizontal pole, spinning in lazy yet precise circles. 

_I can time a jump, but it looks risky..._ Unconsciously, the raven-haired teenage put her hands out to the shadows, flexing her slender fingers. The darkness gathered in her palms as if beckoned by some unknown force, drawn by some invisible magnet. It curled like midnight fog, the edges tinged indigo, the endless center a black hole. Umbra stared in disbelief at the sphere of shadows she held. _What is going _on_?! _Then she remembered what Rogue had asked her when they first met. _These must be my powers._

As if to confirm this, she hurled the shadows at the spiked, spinning ball. They struck, stalled, and then forced their way _inside_ the metal to it's core, bursting open the steel in a near-silent explosion. Pieces coiled back from the center in an intricate flower with razor-sharp corners. A spike went flying right at her, but Umbra took to the shadows once more and sprinted for the platform.

She was almost there when she had to reform; the platform was surrounded by lights, banishing the shadows. A slot suddenly opened in the ground and a tick metal rectangle, no more than an inch high, rose from the floor directly in her path. Even her cat-like reflexes couldn't help her. She stumbled and hit the ground, just as a multitude of tiny blades shot forth from nowhere, like a fleet on warships in mid-air. Their edges glinted maliciously and Umbra felt she was done for. Game over. 

But within the next second that passed there was a flash of yellow light and a cloud of sulfuric smoke. Umbra felt tridactyle hands gently grip her shoulders, and a familiar, heavily accented voice spoke. "Got you." The blades disappeared... didn't they? No... she could faintly hear them bound harmlessly off the floor. Her surroundings had changed. She was suddenly on the platform, the gentle grip of Kurt's three digits loosening, though his hands remained lazily perched, like fuzzy blue parakeets.

"We're all here," Rough called. "Shadowcat, throw the switch." And with a soft whir, the simulation shut off and the room faded to it's original emptiness with the same effect as that of a light dimming until everything is dark.

"Good job everyone. Now report to the control room," came the professor's voice, magnified over the intercom. All eyes shifted expectantly to the pale-eyed German, who gave a warm, if pointed, grin.

"Alright. Everybody grab on." And with that they were all teleported to the control room. _Looks more like the 'world domination center'_ thought Umbra with amusement, studying the vast array of machinery lining the walls. Lights and buttons flashed, screens changed rapidly, and power cords entwined intimately on the floor, along the walls and up the ceiling, disappearing into tiny drill-holes like cowardly snakes.

"Fine job today, everyone," Umbra jumped a little, yanked from her thoughts by the professor's voice. He took no notice, but instead continued analyzing today's simulation. "Nightcrawler, excellent rescue. Rogue, good job making sure everyone was there before you threw the switch. Team work means working together, after all." Everyone in the group nodded in slightly uneven unison. Professor Xavier turned his profound eyes upon Umbra. "And as for you... your powers were quite impressive. See for yourself." He reached to one of the panels and tapped a few keys on a keyboard, flipped a switch, and the biggest screen in the room clicked, trembled, and then began to play back the clips taken from the cameras Umbra had passed in front of. 

Everyone watched silently as it replayed when she had morphed into a kitten and then melted into the shadows. Perhaps most amazing of all, all eyes widened as she gathered the shadows into a foggy sphere in her hands, then silently obliterated the obstacle. As the professor paused the replay, each gaze moved to the cat-eared mutant, who's own emerald hues were staring at her hands in an expression of utter disbelief. Professor X cleared his throat, and she looked up. "Now that you know what your powers are, you should decide on a name," he told her softly.

_A name?_ thought Umbra, quickly recalling how Kurt had been referred to as 'Nightcrawler' and Kitty as 'Shadowcat'. _A _code_ name. To go with their powers._ She stared again at the screen, the frozen image of her right before she dodged the flying spike. To her this was like living some unbelievable dream. But, even though she had never met him, she knew what her father would think. To him, such a thing would be a -

"So, Umbra, what will you call yourself?" the professor asked her. Ending her train of thought aloud, the new member spoke.

"Nightmare," she said firmly, and Professor Xavier gave a curt nod of agreement.


	6. A Toad's Worst Nightmare

"Your powers are awesome," said Rogue, who was sitting cross-legged on Umbra's bed, a horror novel open in her lap. Her hair was gathered back in a careless pony-tail, the white sections making a skunk stripe across auburn strands.

"I still think yours are cooler. I mean, you could have _anyone's_ powers," Umbra replied.

"Yeah. But I couldn't kiss a guy without putting him in a coma," said Rogue with a smirk of amusement at the thought. Umbra playfully raised an eyebrow at her. "Not that I'd want to..." she added softly, and this sent them both into soft chuckles. "And try getting part of someone's memories. It gets overwhelming after a little while." Umbra nodded in agreement and finished applying a bruise-tinted powder to one pale eyelid as she stood at the mirror. She used a slender finger to carefully smudge it in all the right places, and then picked up a charcoal eye pencil.

"You sure you've never used make-up before?" Rogue inquired, watching the cat-tailed girl's reflection from where she was sitting. "Ya act like an expert when puttin' it on." She studied how carefully Umbra outlined her eyes, not making a single flaw. No need to go back and correct _anything_.

"First time," Umbra grinned, capping her eyeliner and sitting down on the edge of the bed. Her school books were stacked neatly on the nightstand at her bed side. She reached over and seized one, thumbing through it boredly.

"Ah can't help but find that a bit hard to believe," Rogue marked her spot in the book with a black ribbon and set it aside. She lifted both arms above her head and groaned softly as she stretched. Umbra's ears pivoted, picking up the sounds of each popping joint.

"Rogue?" Umbra asked suddenly in an incredibly timid voice. The auburn mutant dropped her hands to her lap. Her gaze shifted to the girl who's skin was almost the shade of Rogue's, if not even paler.

"Yeah?" she asked in that truly country voice, tone indicating her full attention was on the cat-like mutant.

"Well, I don't really understand friendship," Umbra began uncertainly, fidgeting with her tail and twirling it around her fingers. "Because I've never had a friend before... I guess what I'm wondering is..." her sentences trailed and her gaze leapt about the room in uncertainty. "Rogue, are we friends?" Rough's eyes locked with those brilliant green ones that held a dead serious expression, surprise swimming in the depths of her own gaze. Her violet-painted lips turned upwards at the corners in a smile.

"'Course, Umbra," came the accent again in a warm, sincere manner. The cat-eared mutant responded with a grin of her own.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I'm tellin' ya, yo. Those X-men got a new recruit." Todd was hopping around the living room, making countless attempts to try and convince _someone_. Lance rolled his dark eyes and Pietro sighed with apparent agitation.

"Look, just-because-Rogue-was-_actually_-sitting-with-someone-today, doesn't-mean-there's-a-new-mutant-at-Bayville-High," the pale-haired speed demon replied in his fast-paced, hard-to-follow voice.

"I dunno, man. Somethin' about that chick just dun feel right. Dangerous, yo."

"Oh, what, so now you're some kind of psychic?" Lance asked, not pulling his dark eyes from the window he was staring out of. His fingers drummed idly on the scratched wooden table wherever there was an empty space; the whole thing was littered with soda cans and pizza boxes old enough to be displayed in a museum somewhere. If there was an award for poor house-keeping, the Brotherhood would win without a doubt.

"Aw man, you're all against me." Todd whined, hopping over and sitting down next to Wanda, who was curled up in the corner of the room, an open book in her hands. "Babycakes, whatchu think?"

"Leave me alone, Toad," Wanda replied. Without looking up she placed one hand in front of her. Before the Toad had time to even panic, he was forced across the room by Wanda's powers, where he slid over the table, sending garbage flying. He landed in Lance's lap, who gave a disgusted cry and stood up. The second Toad landed on his rear end in the middle of the room, Lance let loose a tremor that sent him shakily through the doorway, falling backwards as he connected with the threshold. Pietro and Lance chuckled as Todd crossly gathered himself to his feet, grumbling under his breath.

_Man, I _know_ that chick is a mutant._ The amphibian-like teen thought as he headed to take his monthly shower. _And I'm gonna prove it, too._ He decided as he clicked the door shut behind him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rogue left for school early to catch up on some notes she had missed, so Umbra headed down the stairs of the institute alone this morning. The headphones Rogue had given her were hanging around her neck, the metal she had instantly fallen in love with blaring from them. She was so completely absorbed in the way the instruments blended with lyrics and shouting and screams that she didn't hear footsteps behind her as she headed down the sidewalk.

Todd trailed the mutant-in-question for a few blocks, waiting. Suddenly, he caught sight of a watch around her wrist. _That's not a watch_ thought the slimy Toad. _That's an image inducer._ Of course he would remember such a thing; he _had_ 'borrowed' (without asking) Kurt's one time. Todd spotted an alleyway about a block ahead, and he got an idea.

When Umbra caught sight of the high school, she switched off her CD player and slipped it into the side pocket of her backpack. _That's_ when she heard the footsteps: much too late. A long green tongue came flying from behind her and wrapped itself around her left wrist like some hideous bangle... around the _inducer!_ Umbra spun around, the raven curtain of her long hair following the movement, and caught a glimpse of someone leaping into an alleyway.

_That _had_ to be a mutant_ she thought as she gave chase. She ran into the alley, expecting to find nothing, but instead there was a guy perched rather frog-like on a trashcan lid, her inducer held in one of his hands. His pale, pupiless yellow eyes glinted in the dark.

"Well, well, well. There's a new cat in town," said the stranger, grinning with yellowed, unbrushed teeth as he spotted her pointed black ears and long, fuzzy tail. Umbra clenched her teeth, narrowing her eyes and holding out one hand.

"Hand it over," she demanded firmly, though no anger rose in her voice.

"Whoa, easy, yo. I just wanna talk, ya know? Allow me to in-tra-duce myself. The name's Todd, but you can call me the Toad." He stood up and bowed. Umbra reached for her watch, but the slimy teen yanked it away just in time. "Not so fast. What's your name, kitten?" Todd said as he stood there, observing her.

"None of your business," Umbra growled through clenched teeth, now thoroughly annoyed. Her tail flicker angrily from one side to the other. "Now. Give. Me. Back. My. Inducer." She said, pausing between each word. The Toad simply cackled.

"Ya wanna fight me for it, yo? You're a mutant, right? So let's see ya powers." Todd sneered. Umbra looked quickly to her left, and then her right. They were in an alleyway. A _dark_ alleyway. Riddled with _shadows_.

A smirk spread across those crimson lips, and pale hands extended to balance at either side of her, as if in laid-back meditation. Palms were up, fingers slightly cupped. Toad watched with a mixture of worry, curiosity, and disbelief as the shadows seemed to _creep_ into her waiting hands, spirally indolently to form dark-pigmented spheres. As her digits curled around the dark orbs, Todd knew he was in serious trouble.

"You shouldn't challenge someone when standing in the midst of their playing field," she said solemnly, pitched those glowing indigo spheres directly at him. Umbra's image inducer flew in the air as the startled Toad flung it. She caught is easily, slipping it on and tapping the button. Todd had been thrown back by the impact of the shadows, landing in a trashcan with nothing injured, except maybe his pride.

"Aw man," he mumbled as he climbed out of the trashcan, and then he abruptly slipped in a pile of stinking, wet garbage. Umbra picked up on the warning bell across the street and began to run out of the alleyway, turning around and looking over her shoulder as she reached the sidewalk.

"Nice meeting you, Todd!" she called, waving to the garbage-covered mutant before turning to run across the street to the school.


End file.
